‘Nightingale Of India’, Sarojini Naidu’s Birth Anniversary On Feb 13

The Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879. Her father Aghoranath Chattopadhyaya was a scientist and her mother Barada Sundari Devi was one of the famous Bengali poets. Aghoranath Chattopadhyaya was the founder of the Nizam College, Hyderabad.

She was called the Nightingale of India or Bharatiya Kokila because her poems are rich in imagery and have much rhetorical gesturing for ideal love. For this reason, she is called the ‘Nightingale of India’ .

Know why She Is Called Nightingale Of India On Her 138th Birthday:
• At the age of 16, she received a scholarship from Nizam of Hyderabad and went to London to study first at King’s College, London and later at Girton College, Cambridge

• In England, She came into contact with Nobel laureate Arthur Simon and Edmond Gausse. Gausse convinced Sarojini to stick to Indian themes and depicted her poetry on contemporary Indian life and events

• Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the governor of a state in India

• At the age of 19, she married Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu, a non-Brahmin and a doctor by profession and lead a happy married life with four children Jayasurya, Padmaj, Randheer, and Leilaman

• Sarojini Naidu joined the Indian national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905 and came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, Jawaharlal Nehru and other national leaders of that time

• In 1925, Sarojini Naidu chaired the annual session of Indian National Congress at Kanpur. She played a leading role during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was sent to jail along with Gandhi and other leaders

• In 1942, Sarojini Naidu had been jailed for 21 months with Gandhi for participating in the Quit India Movement. She had a very pleasant relationship with Gandhi and often called him “Mickey Mouse”

• Sarojini Naidu was the first woman governor of independent India and was commissioned in Uttar Pradesh. Sarojini Naidu passed away on March 2, 1949 while working in her office.